The Ashen World's Hope
by Setsuna Eien
Summary: Placing his hand to the seal, the young man smiled. All may be lost, but hope would live on. The scattered remnants of humanity would find a way. And from across the world, four people heeded his call. Different ending to the Fourth Shinobi War, dark, but with a happy(?) ending.


Another oneshot, this time a dystopian future where Naruto was the only one to survive the battle against the Ten-Tails. Pretty much just his life in the aftermath of most of the elemental nations being turned into a wasteland. Hope you enjoy.

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"There."

Naruto set the stone pot on the shelf of his bunker with a grunt. It had been 6 years since the battle with Kaguya and the Ten-Tails had ended, leaving him as the only known human survivor. He had spent his time scavenging what he could from the remnants of the world. In all this time, he had traveled, viewing ruined cities and ancient secrets unearthed by the death of almost everything. The first year was spent gathering supplies and food from the wrecked cities and building a home. It wasn't much, just a three roomed stone bunker painstakingly carved out of the base of a mountain using Rasengan.

The first room was small, holding only his bed and what possessions he had. The second was larger, filled with plants and a sapling he had found hidden deep in the depths of one of Orochimaru's hideouts. He didn't know why it was there, but it was a personal treasure. A small river ran through the corner of the room. He had found it as he was digging, and it served as a good source of clean water.

The third room was massive, easily twenty feet high and maybe a hundred across either way. This room… It was where he had buried any bodies he found. There were hundreds, small stone pits with stone drawn back over the entrances via an earth style technique he had found a scroll for. Each grave was marked by an inscription on the top, and if he knew the occupant, a small portrait. The ones he knew were closest to the entrance, and he visited them frequently. They were the majority of the Konoha 11, excluding Neji, and some of the jounin, along with Tsunade. Gaara, Temari, one of Sasuke's teammates, and Bee were the only non-Konoha shinobi he knew. And of course… Naruto walked over to a small inscription on the wall, detailed with Sasuke's face and name. He smiled sadly. Sasuke's body had never been found. He wanted to believe he was somehow still alive, but…

The chakra from the Ten-Tails and Kaguya had infected the land and warped the animals. The only reason he was safe was due to the protection being a Jinchuriki granted him. Even if Sasuke had survived… he didn't want to know what had happened. It had broke his heart when he had come across a young eagle, twisted and unstable, on his travels. He had yet to find any animal unaffected, apart from a select few. The summons were the worst. The few that had been actively fighting when everything went wrong were trapped, he didn't know why. To watch them slowly go mad and die, losing the spark in their eyes, was worse than any corpse. He hadn't dared to summon any toads, for fear that they would be trapped, or bring the taint back with them when they dispelled. He had reverse-summoned a note to them, warning them of the events that had occurred and begging them not to attempt to visit him. He hoped they had passed the word to the other summons.

The one solace he had was the discovery that anything exposed to his chakra would slowly become immune to the taint, almost like a vaccine. He had saved several animals that way, releasing them after he deemed it safe. He hoped that one day, their descendants would pass on the immunity, letting life return once more.

The only effect on the plants was a mutation to disturbing sizes. Nothing was changed about the plant other than the size, and the occasional sprout of a strange nature. Those he destroyed, not knowing their effects on the healthier plants. The garden room looked like a jungle, with wild plants and strange fruits hanging everywhere. It was a splash of color in a barren world. Opening the thick stone door of the bunker, Naruto entered the wasteland.

Everything was rock and earth, with distended ashy vines of a colossal scale twisting to the sky. Weapons and holes dotted the landscape, mountains and hills looming in the distance. Turning around, he gazed from what was once the Hokage Monument to what was once his home. Grey buildings and rotting wood filled the crater where the village once bustled with life. Leaping down, he stood on top of the Hokage's tower. He listened to the silence, still for a moment, before once more jumping into the streets. Walking through the husks of buildings, he stopped and sat at a familiar stall. The faded drapes over the entrance were almost illegible, but the dingy wooden counter and rotting container of chopsticks still remained. Naruto looked into the back, half expecting to see Teuchi or Ayame poke through the curtain, smiling at him. Sliding off the stool, he walked for another stretch. He came to a stop in front of a set of wooden gates and a swing, hanging from a decaying rope on a long dead tree. This was where his childhood had stood. Where hundreds of other shinobi began, and where he had met his friends. Smiling, and with tears running from his eyes, he walked past the academy.

He walked for a long time, never halting until he was far beyond Konoha, sitting next to a large black rock, carved with the names of hundreds. This was his Memorial Stone. All those whose names he could find who died in the battle, were engraved here.

And on the back, with a small seal that drew from his chakra carved near it, was a message.

'_If anyone remains, please find me. I fear I am losing myself, the only person alive as far as I know. If you read this, I am in Konoha. If you channel any chakra into the empty seal opposite this, I will know. Carry on our legacy. The legacy of man.'_

He smiled, seeing his handwriting carved into the rock. He had known for long that the close proximity to the Ten-Tails final attack would kill him, the energy too potent for even him. He had been growing slowly weaker and weaker, and now his chakra was barely holding it at bay. He was waiting for this moment. Making a tiny Rasengan, he carved new words beneath the previous.

'_My time has passed. If you are reading this, go to Konoha. Underneath the face of the fifth Hokage, you will find my bunker. Contained in there are the graves of those who died, buried in stone. It also contains all the plants I could find, along with a sapling. My possessions are also there, and I hope that they will be put to use. Never forget. I am Naruto Uzumaki, jinchuriki to the Nine-Tails Kurama, Hero of Konoha, and the last survivor of the shinobi. You will find any jutsu scrolls I could locate sealed in the right pocket of my jacket. The necklace of the first Hokage, able to fight the chakra of the bijuu, is around my neck. I will have no need for it in death. You are the world's hope. Find any others, build a village, have children. Let humanity not die here. These are my final words, and I wish you luck.'_

Staggering back, he felt the last effects of the taint inside him take root. As his consciousness faded, he used the last of his strength to pour every drop of chakra into the seal on the rock, unconsciously drawing on the chakra of the bijuu trapped in the air. Inside the seal, a tiny dove, with ten long tail feathers, slept. Hope. Peace. This new chakra beast, born of Naruto's will, would protect all it could, radiating pure, untainted chakra into the air around the seal. The energy could be felt for thousands of miles. The steady beat of the bijuu's chakra pulse would act as a beacon, letting those who remained know of its hope. This beast was not malignant, but would act with the compassion and wisdom of all its predecessors. When it was freed by whomever found it, it would guide the path to a brighter future.

In the far off mountains, in a monastery untouched by humans for generations before, a monk awoke from his meditation. He would answer the call.

Deep under the sea, in a watery cave, a girl carrying the bloodline of water felt the ripple of energy. Smiling, she pushed the water aside, ascending to the surface.

Buried in the ice of the far north, a woman snapped her head up as the ice around her sang with joy and hope. Packing her belongings, the queen of a long dead civilization emerged from solitude.

And from right behind the slumped body of the hero who had started it all, a young man with dark hair and blazing red eyes broke down, moments too late to save his friend. He would continue the hero's mission.

And from the path to the afterlife, Naruto Uzumaki smiled at the hopes of the world.

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Well. i really like this one, but i feel like the ending's cheesy. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this.


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